Author Topic: Clever game ideas for university game show? (Read 3897 times)

Jason Smith · « **on:** August 28, 2007, 09:41:13 PM »

Hello game show elite,
I was hoping to farm your minds for some fun new segments for a game show I'm producing at the University of Houston. We're hoping to eventually graduate it to the municipal channel after we've got a few more episodes under our belt.

The show is called "Working on my B.S." and is an adaptation of dictionary (the game) for tv. I have three contestants, three judges and a host. The host asks an open ended question and each contestant is given an opportunity to answer - if they know the answer they give it, otherwise they make one up. Each judge chooses an answer they like best, whether they think it is the funniest or most likely to be true. (ie play to the judges). If the answer is in fact the correct answer, there is a bonus two points to the first responder.

I'd like to have an enlightenment round in which I can have a fast paced game, but can't seem to settle on anything that fits the theme. Hip/Funny and loosely satirical of university culture.

Thanks for any help you might have,
-Jason

parliboy · « **Reply #1 on:** August 28, 2007, 11:36:27 PM »

Jason:

I'm currently living about two miles from U of H, and I'd enjoy the opportunity to pitch in with your project.

In the meantime:

It's good that you're looking for something to break up the slower action. Watching thirty minutes of the same darn thing over and over on "You've Been Sentenced" drove me nuts.

One thought might be to steal blatently from Quizbusters (sorry, Matt). If you're going to do a fast-paced intermediate or end-of-game round, you might want something to tie the words together. For example, a common word root. Each word is given rapid fire followed by a series of short definitions. That would require buzz-in technology, but such a thing is not hard to come by.

Jason Smith · « **Reply #2 on:** August 29, 2007, 07:58:45 AM »

[quote name=\'parliboy\' post=\'162218\' date=\'Aug 28 2007, 10:36 PM\']
Jason:

I'm currently living about two miles from U of H, and I'd enjoy the opportunity to pitch in with your project.

In the meantime:

It's good that you're looking for something to break up the slower action. Watching thirty minutes of the same darn thing over and over on "You've Been Sentenced" drove me nuts.

One thought might be to steal blatently from Quizbusters (sorry, Matt). If you're going to do a fast-paced intermediate or end-of-game round, you might want something to tie the words together. For example, a common word root. Each word is given rapid fire followed by a series of short definitions. That would require buzz-in technology, but such a thing is not hard to come by.
[/quote]

Happy to have you contribute, we'll work something out in terms of getting you to meet the rest of the group.

I've already built a buzzer system using a BASIC Stamp microcontroller, I've got three buzzers and three sets of three buttons for the judges.

The word puzzle stuff is great, and I've got a few ideas like it. I was hoping to stay in the theme of bluffing though. It's very difficult to come up with a fast paced game that a person could play capably while bluffing. What I envision is a word game where each person adds something and each has an opportunity to call the previous one's bluff. As it is a light hearted game I didn't want it to be too terribly difficult for people to play and as UH has a large diversity of ethnicities I didn't want to bias against anyone not born in the US.

A very tall order, I know, but that is why I've come to the very best.

- Jason

tpirfan28 · « **Reply #3 on:** August 29, 2007, 09:37:19 AM »

First off, welcome! I really like your ideas you are coming up with.

I will agree with what pariboy is saying...you definitely need something to break up the monotony of a straight-laced quizzer. (Apparently) the new version of Temptation (premiering 9/10) is a good quiz, but each round seems to have a gimmick to it. I wouldn't go stealing directly from it, because I personally don't think it directly adaptable. You might also want to search up Sale of the Century (which is what Temptation is based off of).

Quizbusters, which as previously mentioned is run by our esteemed Matt Ottinger, is a good example of a quizzer as well. There's videos up, I just don't know where. Matt O. to the white courtesy phone, please.

I wish you all the best.

Chief-O · « **Reply #4 on:** August 29, 2007, 10:40:23 AM »

[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'162244\' date=\'Aug 29 2007, 08:37 AM\']
Quizbusters, which as previously mentioned is run by our esteemed Matt Ottinger, is a good example of a quizzer as well. There's videos up, I just don't know where. Matt O. to the white courtesy phone, please.
[/quote]

I'm not Matt, but.....

You can find 'em here. [RealPlayer required]

DoorNumberFour · « **Reply #5 on:** August 30, 2007, 09:20:13 AM »

Hmm.

You may wanna pick up an old (or new) copy of Balderdash; the gameplay seems quite similar to what you're talking about.

I mention old AND new because both versions are vastly different in game material.

The old one is strictly words you've probably never heard of, while the new one expands its scope to anagrams, acronyms, and names of movies and TV shows.

If you can't use the material right out of the box, I'm sure it would help you write some of your own.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #6 on:** August 30, 2007, 09:54:32 AM »

[quote name=\'Jason Smith\' post=\'162201\' date=\'Aug 28 2007, 09:41 PM\']The show is called "Working on my B.S." [/quote]
LOVE the title!
[quote name=\'parliboy\' post=\'162218\' date=\'Aug 28 2007, 11:36 PM\']One thought might be to steal blatently from Quizbusters (sorry, Matt).[/quote]
On the contrary. Flattered. And yes, the link to shows is here.
[quote name=\'parliboy\' post=\'162218\' date=\'Aug 28 2007, 11:36 PM\']
If you're going to do a fast-paced intermediate or end-of-game round, you might want something to tie the words together. For example, a common word root. Each word is given rapid fire followed by a series of short definitions.[/quote]
That was the original intent of our Pop Quiz, words and phrases with a common root word. We quickly learned that for the hundreds and hundreds of those that we'd need (with a dozen entries required for each one), we'd quickly run out of root words. That's when we went with the initial letters, which offered us much greater flexibility. (We still throw in a root word category every once in a while.)

Here's a quick idea. Player sees a short question, including the correct answer. He reads the question to the next player, either choosing to give the correct answer or coming up with a bluff on the spot. The recipient guesses "truth" or "bluff". If the giver fools the receiver, he gets a point and gets to ask the next question. Once the receiver gets one right, he gains control and becomes the giver, asking questions to the next person in line. Do that with a clock for, say, ninety seconds and I bet you could have some fun.

jmangin · « **Reply #7 on:** August 30, 2007, 10:52:34 AM »

Not sure how helpful I can be, but if you need a means to deliver on-screen graphics for a projector or monitor system, I have a lot of experience in Flash and I'm happy to help.

clemon79 · « **Reply #8 on:** August 30, 2007, 11:47:30 AM »

I gotta think they have a Chyron of some kind.

(Or am I assuming too much and my college studios were just really well-equipped?)

Oh, unless you're suggesting animating a gameboard or something.

jmangin · « **Reply #9 on:** August 30, 2007, 01:31:14 PM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'162336\' date=\'Aug 30 2007, 11:47 AM\']
(Or am I assuming too much and my college studios were just really well-equipped?)
[/quote]

Well you know what happens when you ASSume...

clemon79 · « **Reply #10 on:** August 30, 2007, 01:53:52 PM »

[quote name=\'jmangin\' post=\'162349\' date=\'Aug 30 2007, 10:31 AM\']
Well you know what happens when you ASSume...
[/quote]
Better that then making a joke about my studio being well-equipped, I guess.

Jason Smith · « **Reply #11 on:** August 30, 2007, 07:17:15 PM »

Balderdash is a boxed version of dictionary, another in a line of games based on extant party games. It's almost always a blast in the groups here, along with "Apples to Apples" and "Bang!" I'll look into the "new" Balderdash.

We do not have a chyon, but do have access to Final Cut Pro and their text compositing app though I can't recall the name of it at the moment.

I will be doing gameboard, but I'm still working out the details. Not sure what the best methodology would be. (rear projection, blue screen compositing, post processing border etc) We have a limited budget for set design, so it will have to be thrifty.

I'm really inspired by the editing done in the QuizBusters show, and may end up doing some things similarly; Particularly the cropped close up of the contestants.

TLEberle · « **Reply #12 on:** August 30, 2007, 10:07:23 PM »

Have you tested this with people at the college, to see if they enjoy watching it? Or playing it? I just can't imagine college students playing Liar's Club, but then I didn't think that a college version of Fun House would last a year either, so I could be totally wrong on that front.

Props on the title, though. I'll give you that.

This just popped into my head: instead of a panel of judges, what if the audience (if you do have an audience) voted, and the players scored points based on how many people each contestant was able to convince?

Jason Smith · « **Reply #13 on:** August 31, 2007, 08:46:23 AM »

I filmed two pilots over the previous weekend using the same questions. The contestants enjoyed it and the judges seemed to enjoy picking on people too. Some people excelled at it, some didn't. But, as short as the show is, it didn't seem to affect anything. As for how much fun it is to watch, that remains to be seen. The raw footage needs editing to energize the slower moments.

Problem with having the audience vote is the amount of time it takes to tally. As it is, we can fit in about 15-20 questions if we do them as quickly as possible. I think I may offer an edited out 5 second delay from when the question is asked to allow contestants more time to form a coherent bluff.

I'm still looking for the quick "thesis defense" lightning round type game. We're kicking around a segment called "Major disappointment" or "Enlightenment round" That will have you do a hands on activity within the category (Major in BS) that you chose. For example, in engineering you would be given a spoon, cardboard tube, and various other items then asked to make a trebuchet and describe its structure/function. Judges award as before.

parliboy · « **Reply #14 on:** September 01, 2007, 12:15:46 AM »

15 to 20 questions in the main game? I'd suggest that this is actually too many. For a current example of this type of gameplay done right, look up a radio show called "Says You". Two of its segments are devoted to definition bluffing, and it's often hilarious. Point is, I think you're leaving some humor on the table by rushing through those questions. You can have a separate faster segment. But often, a bluffing game show will be at its strongest as a comedy game show. And you're rushing through too many questions to let your comedy shine through.

Audience votes don't take that long to tally. Just give everyone not associated with a contestant three paddles labled "1", "2", and "3" Each contestant is attached to a number. It should be easy to eyeball it. Then award 3 points for the most votes, etcetera.

Making an item of the week has merit. But you shouldn't force them into a certain, specific item. Just give them a bunch of crap and turn them loose to build whatever they can defend. The caveat being, of course, that it shouldn't be a practical, obvious item, or it's not BS. No reason you can't give them time to build before the show and then show brief footage from backstage build time as a lead-in to this segment.